Josh Reddick says A’s clearly in ‘rebuilding mode’ after trading Josh Donaldson
Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane got us again on Friday, pulling the trigger on a major trade that seemingly developed out of nowhere. One minute, the MLB trade winds were calm as Black Friday drew to a close. Twenty minutes later, we were digesting Beane sending arguably his best all-around player, All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson, to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for third baseman Brett Lawrie, minor league pitchers Kendall Graveman and Sean Nolin, and shortstop Franklin Barreto.
Needless to say, it caught everybody from fans to those who cover the game for a living off guard. And if we were caught off guard, imagine the shock waves that went through the players involved and their teammates.
Well, actually, we don’t have to imagine it. We got some pretty quick reactions to Friday’s stunner thanks to the A’s hard-working beat writers. Among the first to weigh-in was Oakland outfielder Josh Reddick, and it was abundantly clear he wasn’t just shocked Donaldson was leaving, but highly disappointed as well.
Reddick added:
“It’s sad any time you see your best player go, not just as a player but as a person. And he’s our three-hole hitter and best defensive player. He was big for our team.”
As Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan explains, it’s just the A’s being the A’s. And if for some reason you’re not buying that, here’s what Beane himself had to say late Friday.
Believe us, Beane is far from done dealing this offseason. Even with the impending loss of Jon Lester, he has enough starting pitching depth to reasonably deal at least one of Jeff Samardzija or Scott Kazmir. Who knows, he may even move both if he’s wowed again like he was with Toronto’s offer. There’s a plan, but it’s a fluid plan that doesn’t live or die based on one development.
Another thing that makes more dealing and retooling likely? Other general managers have a good understanding of how Beane likes to put his deals together. It doesn’t mean they always have a match, but once the ball gets rolling and pieces are in place, they reach the finish line pretty quickly.
The Donaldson deal is proof of that. In fact, the 28-year-old All-Star was spending his Black Friday much the same way the rest of were or wished we were.
Yeah, that’ll snap you back into reality quickly.
Despite the shock, Donaldson handled the situation with class, sending this message to A’s fans.
It’s a deal that will take awhile to sink in, but it certainly fits Beane’s M.O. of selling high on one talent to create a surplus across the board. Also, if Brett Lawrie, who’s four years younger than Donaldson with a similar upside, can stay healthy and on track, the production lost at third base may not be as significant as expected. That’s a big if, but even the consistently successful teams in MLB need their share of ifs to pan out.
To bottom line it, we’ll be talking about this trade and its implications for a good long time. And it’s possible both Beane and Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos end up hitting a home run or whiffing all together when it’s finally sorted out.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
